Performing arts have always been a huge part of Collingwood, from the dance shows to the amazing assembly performances, the arts program never fails to put on a great show for everyone to enjoy. Music is a very important part of art, it speaks directly to the soul and every note contains a story. Music can be taken wherever you are, it is a companion, a friend that help you through every obstacle. From every stroke of the guitar string to every key on the piano, music grows and expands until it fills every crevice of your heart. ​

A music festival is just like any other traditional festival. This one celebrates the art of music. It is a gathering of singers, musicians and performers where they share their chosen song or piece. Not only does is it a sharing of music, it is also a communication between artist in which words cannot express. Just like how a dancer uses his/her body to perform and bring a story alive, the singer’s tool and vehicle is his/her voice.

The Collingwood choir has been participating in music festivals for a very long time. Last year in April, the Collingwood Senior Choir participated in the Capilano Music Festival at Capilano University. It was a festival by application only, and Collingwood was able to attend. Each group has half an hour of performance time and they are allowed to sing two pieces with the other groups watching. Afterwards, the director of the festival comes up and works with the individual pieces that the groups sings. This is more of a recording session than a competitive festival. There are no rewards and everyone is there to learn. This workshop is all about perfecting the music pieces and making it sound incredible. After the workshop, the group would go record again, and they are allowed to do as many times as they want until they’re all happy with how it sounds. At the Capilano festival, the groups were allowed to pick two singers to join the Capilano vocal jazz emsemble called Nite Cap.

This past weekend, the choir group went to UBC on their invitation to join the music festival. Out of the 550 singers there, 140 were from the UBC choir program. Unlike the Capilano festival, this one was not a workshop, it was all about listening to other singers and appreciating their work, and vise versa. The Collingwood choir had their own songs to perform, they sang Sing, My Child and Even When he was Silent. And on top of that, there was one song called Him for Freedom that everyone at the festival performed. The combined choir that went to UBC sang Indodana and We Can Mend the Sky.

The Kiwanis Festival is a traditional one that Collingwood always attends. And Collingwood always attends at least two per year. Sometime they are competitive festivals, sometimes they’re not. Last year, the middle school choir won gold at one of the competitive festivals in LA. We hope that the Collingwood choir will continue to attend these music festivals and best of luck to the competitive performers!